John Jett’s stonemason’s skills are evident in the inscription carved at the roof level of his building, “J.H. Jett Marble Works, 1901.” The Jett Building was the first in Baker City built of volcanic tuff construction. During the early years of the 20th Century, ten commercial or public buildings and several houses were built of this distinctive, durable stone. The tuff came from Jett’s Quartz Quarry 12 miles east of town. Jett immigrated to Baker County with his brother in 1871, founded his marble works in 1886, and was elected county treasurer in the 1890s. The east side of the ground floor originally housed a grocery and feed store, and the Jett family occupied the second floor.